Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Week 5

This week we are working on projects to help us reduce, reuse and recycle even more than we already do.


I guess it was a real Monday in this house. No one, but me, wanted to get up and do much of anything. I did persuade Kairah to work on our craft project for the day.  She made a recycling center for items that we have not been recycling because our waste management does not take these items. She made a bin for plastic bags and a bag for batteries.

I am not sure if I told you this, but I detest plastic bags, but no matter what I do we seem to accumulate them. I keep reusable bags in both vehicles, but my husband and kids rarely use them and sometimes I forget. Sometimes I will carry my items out without a bag if I can carry them or put them in my purse (I feel like I am steeling ...lol). Either way, we still have these stupid bags. So we are going to put them in the bin and take them to our nearest store that recycles (every two weeks is our goal).


Batteries are a whole other story. I found out that I am not that smart about recycling and reducing waste because I have been tossing batteries in the trash (insert shocked sound here). So I did some research and I have only found places that charge you to recycle your batteries. I am determined to recycle them for free, so as I search for more options we are going to start putting them in our recycling bag.





Monday was also Lew's Birthday. We made him peach cobbler. It was yummy and Gluten Free. I am so proud of how my family supports mine and Kailah's food challenges. 







Tuesday was the first day for Kairah's Free Summer Clarinet Lessons at Playgroud Music. She seemed to like it and will continue to go twice a week until we go on vacation in August. I also double scheduled myself, so I am grateful that my husband was able to pick Kairah up for me and keep her until I was able to pick her up. Kailah was not feeling well today so she did not want to go to the Summer Reading program. I also got to enjoy some time with two of my favorite girl friends and their tots.  
Ahhhh...here is something exciting. I smoked my family out of the house while cooking dinner today. Lol! Other than that it was busy and boring full of running around and doing stuff like menus and grocery lists.

Wednesday is my errands day. I think my kids thought it was Monday because they did not want to get up or help with food prep or clean up. I just sucked it up and enjoyed the silence. I am so proud of myself because every thing on my list got accomplished accept for a missed sales meet up (that this person missed two times before). I even kept my cool at the school registrar when two folks annoyed the crap outta me. One lied and said he was next when he knew I had been there way before him and the other one just could not make a decision. Kailah was very helpful at the store and Charlie was well behaved. Kairah and Kaijah had fun at their Summer Reading program. Kairah was even so nice to buy me an insulated bag with her library money. I found an awesome deal at JoAnn's on fabric for Charlie's Birthday present. I only went in to check out what they had and the perfect fabric was on sale, plus I got 20% off for being a collage student.

Charlie waiting for her "new friends" to come over.

Thursday began with prepping the house for my first ever big play group. I joined a local mommies group and volunteered to hold a function at my house. I was so nervous because I only knew one of the moms that was coming. It went rather well. It seemed that all the kids had fun and the moms were as relaxed as you could be with toddlers and preschoolers running around. After the playgroup, my friend and I took our kids to lunch (she was minus one kid) at Logan's. I love eating at the place! My sewing debacle ended the night.

Kairah and Kailah's Tin Can Luminaries

Friday was rather uneventful. I pretty much took the day off. I let my kids sleep as long as they wanted and of course they complained about that too...darn middle schoolers....lol. I cleaned out my craft closet and separated MINE ONLY supplies from the shared supplies. It is so much easier to get my stuff out now. I moved the shared supplies to the linen closet in my spare bathroom that my older girls share. In the afternoon after I took a lovely nap, I let my kids make tin can luminaries. We put the cans with water in them in the freezer the night before. I made one while they watched, then I left and let them have at it. I had to save the rest of my sanity because it was in short supply this week (I am human, I have to remind myself sometimes). I ended the night with some sewing (see above link).